- Fifa president persists with 48-team plan for 2022
- Expanded tournament would involve neighbouring countries
The Fifa president, Gianni Infantino, is pressing ahead with the proposal to expand the 2022 World Cup from 32 teams to 48, which would mean matches shared among neighbouring countries hostile to the hosts Qatar.
In an interview with the Guardian marking four years before the World Cup will kick off in Qatar on 21 November 2022, Infantino acknowledges the chances of it happening are “small”, but emphasised his belief that football can help to heal political hostilities which led last year to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt enforcing an economic blockade against Qatar.
Written by Exclusive by David Conn
This news first appeared on https://www.theguardian.com/football/2018/nov/21/qatar-2022-world-cup-48-teams-gianni-infantino-fifa under the title “Qatar would help Middle East peace by sharing 2022 World Cup, says Infantino”. Bolchha Nepal is not responsible or affiliated towards the opinion expressed in this news article.
